conversation; to him were added the Sipyagins' Kirill and a certain Mendeley, also nicknamed the Sulker; only it was difficult to reckon on the Sulker he was bold as a lion when sober, but a coward when he was drunk, and he almost always was drunk.
'And your own people, now,' Nezhdanov inquired of Markelov, 'are there any you can rely on?'
Markelov replied that there were some. He did not mention one of them by name, however, but went off into a discourse upon the artisans of the towns and the seminarists, who would be the more useful from their great bodily strength, and, if only it came to fighting with fists, would do great things! Nezhdanov made inquiries about the nobility. Markelov answered that there were five or six young noblemen; one of them, to be sure, was a German, and he the most radical of the lot, but, of course, there was no reckoning on a German . . . he might turn sulky or betray them any moment. But there, they must wait to see what news Kislyakov would send them. Nezhdanov inquired too about the army. At that Markelov hesitated, tugged at his long whiskers, and explained at last that there was nothing, so far, decisive.. . . Perhaps Kislyakov would have something to disclose.
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